Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Back toReality

Beans, End ItAll, An-ticon

Tight as a rat's rectum.-- "Glass Coffins"

The fourth solo joint from Anti-Pop Consortium member Beansdoesn't get off to an auspicious start, but stick with it, and the re-cord builds in momentum. He may not be most expressive em-cee, but he compensates with clever wordplay and multi-textur-al beats (I particularly like the way he "rocks to the PM Dawn").

His roster of producers include Nobody, Four Tet, Tobacco, andInterpol's Sam Fog. At times, the instrumental backdrops comeclose to experimental/musique concrète territory, but he alwaysbrings things back to reality before the number is through.

In his bio, Beans cites "Suicide as his main influence (with nodsto Sun Ra, Mantronix, Sonic Youth, Public Enemy, & Autechre)."For me, the highlight is the vocal interplay between the rapperand Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) on "Mellow You Out."

Laura Stevenson & the Cans, SitResist, Don Giavanni Records[4/26/11]

Sit Resist offers jaunty, vibrato-laden Americana with woozyhorns in the vein of Regina Spektor. Throughout her second re-cord, Laura Stevenson's voice swoops up and down, some-times into a little-girl croak. According to the press notes, hergrandfather, Harry Simeone, a vocalist with the Benny Good-man Orchestra, composed "Little Drummer Boy." Cool cred-entials, but I have no tolerance for this kind of thing. She is-n't without talent, but the disc is too precious for my taste.

Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx, We'reNew Here, XL Recordings[2/22/11]

As much as I loved I'm New Here, a remix release feels extra-neous, even if Jamie xx participated in both projects. After all,the way Gil Scott-Heron stripped the material down to its es-sence--the better to hear his words-- was its biggest strength.

Consequently, the most interesting tracks didn't appear onI'mNew Here or have re-emerged in new form, like "My Cloud,""The Crutch," and "Ur Soul & Mine." On the contrary, Jamiedoesn't do anything with "New York Is Killing Me" that improv-es or re-contextualizes it in any significant way; just adds a fewsound effects here and there. Stick with the original recording.

Endnote: For more information about Beans, pleaseclickhere; for Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx, here;and forLaura Stevenson,here. Beans plays ChopSuey with Tobacco on 4/22. Image from One O'Clock.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

It took awhile to get ahold of this CD, which everyone has heardby now--at least everyone who was dying to hear Motor City ti-tans the Dirtbombs put their stamp on Detroit techno. As I sus-pected (and fervently hoped): Party Store was worth the wait.

For anyone who thinks it's an about-face, it isn't. Detroit native Mick Collins has been talking up techno for awhile now (when Iinterviewed him for Tablet in 2005, Collins said, "I have a technorecord coming out later this year"). Further, he hints at things tocome on 2008's We Have You Surrounded, which features morerobotic/post-punk moves than any Dirtbombs effort to date.

That doesn't mean the new record attempts to out-manmachineKraftwerk or Daft Punk. The quintet hasn't put their humanity a-side. Even when MC strives to sing like an android, he still soundslike a man--on "Sharevari," he's a French one...with bionic parts.

Consequently, Party Store feels more cohesive than the schizoSurrounded, their last studio recording. In that sense, it servesas a twin to their soul and funk collection, Ultraglide in Black.

Granted, I'm not sure that Carl Craig's "Bug in the Bassbin" needsto exceed 20 minutes. Then again, once you've locked onto a goodgroove, you might as well, pace James Brown, do it to death. "Bug"is the kind of quasi-psychedelic jam meant more for trancing thandancing, though the group's patented two-drummer attack (PatPantano and Ben Blackwell) insures that you can do that, too.

Also, epics tend to work best at the beginning or end of LPs,whereas "Bug" arrives in the middle. What the hell, the Dirt-bombs have always played by their own rules. It's also an in-strumental, like "Jaguar," so if Mick's vocals are your favoritepart of the 'bombs, this won't be your favorite release (I reco-mmend neophytes start with Ultraglide, and work forward).

Ironically, Party Store doesn't make me want to go off on atechno bender, which may say more about me thanthe Dirt-bombs. Rather, it makes me want to spin the disc non-stop--which definitely says something about the band in question.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ******Bonus: Click here for the Kyle Hall remix of "Bug in the Bassbin," herefor the Ectomorph remix of "Jaguar," andhere for the Omar S remix of"Sharevari." (All three are available on a gatefold, limited-edition 12".)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Dreamyand Direct

Kurt Vile, SmokeRing forMy Halo,Matador[3/8/11]

Now that Jay Reatard is no longer with us, I proclaim Philadel-phia's Kurt Vile the independent recording artist with the besthair. Not that the two sound alike, because they don't (except,perhaps, on "Puppet to a Man"). Throughout his fourth album,Vile gives his folk-oriented songs a subtle psychedelic twist, re-sulting in an LP that feels dreamy and direct at the same time.

At its worst, it's a little samey, but I like the indirectness ofhis vocals, which has more to do with the way he records thanthe way he sings, as if his mic were wrapped in layers of gauze.Smoke Ring follows in the wake of 2009's Childish Prodigy,and Vile plans to promote it Reatard-style: by playing Amer-ica's finest record stores. Look for him in your town soon.

Amazon.com WidgetsTriumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death,Some of Us Are in This Together, Don't Stop Believin'

I wish I liked this release better, because Triumph of Leth-argy Skinned Alive to Death hail from Seattle, but SpencerMoody's angst-ridden vocals are a significant buzz kill (the ex-Murder City Devil seems to be going for a Steve Albini effect).

I prefer "Salt" and "Hey Asshole" on which former Pretty GirlsMake Graves front woman Andrea Zollo does her thing. Other-wise, the quartet recalls Pelican. Similarly, they'd work betteras an instrumental outfit or with a different vocal approach.The Laughing Hyenas set the standard for this sort of thing.

Here's something you don't see every day: a cassette-only collec-tion of music from vintage biker films. Jess Rotter designed theskullerific cover, and the stamp inside my copy reads 25/100, soquantities are limited. I don't know if there are any left, but OtherMusic carried it last year (I got mine from Rotter and Friends).

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Is it too soon to declare Good Things a soul classic? After all, StonesThrow only released it five months ago. Classics usually takea few years to germinate, but I'm gonna go ahead and call it.

Decades from now, will people speak about his LP with the samedegree of esteem we now accord Shuggie Otis's Inspiration Infor-mation? I hope so, because it shares the same eclectic charm.

There are those who believe that qualifiers diminish the object inquestion, and they have a point. If I describe Good Things asneo-soul, like many have, I'm suggesting that it would be folly tocompare Blacc to, say, Stevie Wonder. Better to compare him toRafael Saadiq and label mate Mayer Hawthorne. Those compari-sons certainly make sense, but I'd rather not go there either, be-cause it also diminishes their work, just as neo-noir implies that Roman Polanski's Chinatown doesn't bear comparison to thenoirs of the WWII-era, even though it holds up just as well.

Granted, Blacc wouldn't exist without the soul practitioners whocame before, but they didn't emerge from a puff of smoke either(no, not even Marvin Gaye). If the prefix must persist, I wouldreserve it for artists who understand the parameters of a genre,but haven't yet found--or don't possess--the means to transcendthem. If you think you've heard it before, it's because you have.On the contrary, Good Things feels both fresh and familiar.

It began with the first single, "I Need a Dollar," which didn't soundlike anything else released in 2010 (and became the theme to Howto Make It in America). That was already a promising sign, but Idoubted that a full-length could measure up. It does. And doesn't.

As it turns out, Blacc doesn't make the same song over and over(and I'll never understand why anyone would find that a worthygoal). On the contrary, he offers 13 discreet selections. Each is u-nique in its own way, but you can tell Blacc was behind each one.

Furthermore, Good Things doesn't sound like an exercise instyle, even though Blacc started out as an MC. If you listen close-ly, his hip-hop background becomes apparent, but you have tomake an effort. I have no idea whether this is a permanent shift ora temporary detour, but his lyrics and delivery indicate that hemeans what he says. Were he merely trying to prove that he could pass for a soul man, his words wouldn't scan as well.

In "I Need a Dollar," Blacc sings, "If I share my story, will you shareyour dollar with me?" Taken literally, it describes our exchange: Iheard a song--a story--and I wanted more, so I bought his album,i.e. I shared my dollars with him. In return, I received 13 stories.

Whether each one emerges directly from hisown life experiences,I couldn't say, but it doesn't matter, because they don't come ac-ross as mere fabrications. Put them all together with his earthyvoice and those beautifully understated funk melodies, and Al-oe Blacc has crafted a soul classic. No qualifiers necessary.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Movie ofthe Month:Part 25

I recentlyreviewedthe follow-ing DVD forVideo Lib-rarian, and thought the results were worth sharing.

STILL BILL[***1/2](Damani Baker and Alex Vlack, 2009, US, 78 mins.)

Documentaries about R&B stars often end in death, obscurity, orsustained stardom. Co-directors Damani Baker and Alex Vlack re-count a different story, since Bill Withers was in his 30s whenhe entered show business, only to walk away from it in the '80s.

In the film, he speaks about his past and his present, while archivalfootage fills in for days gone by. He also travels back to his home-town of Slab Fork, WV and to New York City for a tribute concert.

His laconic, colloquial way of talking makes the 70-year-old ex-ceptionally good company (a quality that segues into his sing-ing, in which he combines soul with folk and funk elements).

Aside from a stutter, which he conquered as an adult, Witherssuffered from asthma as a child, and dealt with instructors whodoubted his abilities, which only strengthened his resolve. Fromhigh school, he joined the Navy, and became an aircraft mechanic.

His first single, "Ain’t No Sunshine," put him on the map, but whenthe suits pushed him in a more conventional direction, his enthu-siasm evaporated (one suggested he cover Elvis's "In the Ghetto")."The fame game was kicking my ass,” Withers laments, to whichfriend Cornel West counters, "You have been true to yourself."

Towards the end, Withers works on songs with his daughter, Kori,proving that he hasn't lost the desire to make music. Other speak-ers include Tavis Smiley, Angélique Kidjo, and My Morning Jack-et's Jim James (wife Marcia and son Todd also offer a few words).

Concludes the singer, "We are remiss in overvaluing entertainers."True, but Still Bill offers a necessary corrective for one who has-n't always gotten his due. Audio options: 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0Stereo (click here for a list of the extras). Highly recommended.

Click here for Movie of the Month, Part 24: ELO Live - The Early Years

Endnote:Slightly revised from the original text. Click herefor my review of +'Justments, here for Just As I Am/Still Bill,andhere for Soul Power. Bill Withers still from Vishows.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

I was charmed by thefirst single, "NeverCome Around," and hadhigh hopes for the restof the record. I wasn'tdisappointed, though it isn't quite as immediate as the debuts from the Vivian Girls or the Dum Dum Girls. (Comparisons are inevitable, so it seems better to embrace than to resist them.)

Instead, La Sera reminds me more of Frankie Rose and theOuts (Rose has played with the Vivian Girls and the Dum DumGirls). In other words, it's more of a grower, but Goodman al-so combines delicate vocals with dusky surf-garage melodies.

At first listen, the reverb-drenched "Never Come Around" isthe clear stand-out, while the other cuts are more amorphous,but on subsequent spins, their subtle hooks grew in stature.

"Sleeptalking," for instance, sounds like a female-sung MightyLemon Drops song, while "Devils Hearts Grow Gold" has an en-chanting nursery rhyme-like quality and "Left This World" re-calls Heavenly with its sprinkling of tambourine and hand claps.Explains Hardly Art, "Her inspiration sprung from an attractionto early pop hits from the 1950s and ethereal choir vocals."Click here for "Devils Hearts Grow Gold" mp3 and here for video.

Though Goodman has a pleasant voice, I wouldn't call it forceful,but I don't consider that a problem, since the spare, yet effectiveproduction indicates that she understands her limitations (shecollaborated with producer/multi-instrumentalist Brady Hall).

She often sings at the top of her range, but never pushes too hardor overwhelms the instrumentation. Instead, her multi-trackedvocals float around the guitar, bass, and drums; sometimes risingabove, sometime melting into the mix. Very charming indeed.

Friday, February 04, 2011

Shortly after I posted a few Bill Withers covers in honor of Still Bill, which premiered on Showtime yesterday, February4th, crate digger extraordinaire Larry Webber suggested sever-al more. Here are the four I like the best. The reggae interpre-tations are great, but I prefer the funkiest of the funk jams.

In the All Music Guide, Jason Ankeny describes Eddy Senay'sHotThang (1972/Sussex) as "a virtual primer in psychedelic funk."

About Me

I write about popular music and film and the relationship between the two. I'm Irish on one side, Italian on the other—British on both. I was born in Connecticut (Far From Heaven), raised in Alaska (Northern Exposure), and I've lived in Seattle, WA (Trouble in Mind) since 1988.